Reforming Refuse: Designing a Community Recycling Centre for Halifax's North End

Abstract

Set in Halifax, Nova Scotia, this thesis proposes a design for a new kind of urban recycling facility—one that integrates the processes of recycling with a program of public education and recreation. Using a centrally located vacant lot in the north end of the city, the work explores the question of how a recycling depot can engage with its surrounding community to promote recycling and reuse.

As is the case in many urban centres, recycling facilities in Halifax are largely peripheral—existing within the city on back alleys, and as major industrial facilities on the fringe of the urban core. Despite a comprehensive recycling program, improper disposal of recyclable materials is a problem in the city, while dealing with the growing municipal waste load is a mounting concern.

This thesis aims to address the issue of how a recycling depot—an industrial building type—can bridge the gap between the warehouse floor and daily life of city residents to become a place of community learning and engagement, drawing emphasis to recycling behaviour in its community.